Video Games

It's been over a year since the developers of the Oculus Rift raised almost US$2.5 million through Kickstarter, and it looks like they've been putting those funds to good use. Besides working on a consumer model of its innovative virtual reality goggles, the company recently revealed it has been adapting its headset especially for mobile devices running Android. Read More

Motion-tracking systems like Wii and Kinect have certainly changed the way we play video games – among other things – but some people still complain that there's too much of a lag between real-world player movements and the corresponding in-game movements of the characters. The creators of the experimental Lumitrack system, however, claim that it has much less lag time than existing systems ... plus it's highly accurate and should be cheap to commercialize. Read More

The computer interaction experts at Ideum have developed a number of impressive multi-touch smart tables in the past, such as the Platform 46 and the Pano Touch Table, many of which were built around their proprietary GestureWorks software. Now the company is gearing up to release its GestureWorks Gameplay program, which is built around the same engine and allows any video game running on a Windows 8 device to be played with an on-screen touch controller. Read More

It's understandable if you're checking the date right now to make sure this isn't an April Fool's joke, but the Nintendo 2DS is a very real handheld console hitting store shelves soon. Nintendo plans to sell the 2DS alongside the regular 3DS and 3DS XL as a slightly cheaper alternative for families with small children. To save on costs though, the new game system drops a few key features of the current portable console line-up, most notably the clamshell design and the glasses-free 3D screen. Read More

At last week's Gamescom, Sony and Microsoft revealed a whopping 56 games that will launch on the same day as their respective consoles – 23 for the Xbox One and 33 for the PlayStation 4. But wait just one second – let's take a closer look at that list. Call of Duty: Ghosts? Assassin's Creed IV? Madden NFL 25? Most of these are releasing on the Xbox 360 and PS3 as well, and some are already out right now. In fact, if you strip away the games that will also be available on current consoles, PCs, and mobile devices, you're left with 15 games in total that will require a next-gen console to play when they're released. So the real question is, would any of these titles convince you to make the leap to next-gen? Read More

"There was a full team of farmyard animals came through, and they murdered everything they saw." Meet Dave Leadbetter and Drew Hobbs of IRL Shooter, an Australian company that's blurring the boundaries between video games, live action role playing and laser tag. In 2012 these guys launched Patient Zero, a story-driven real life zombie shooter game in an outer suburb of Melbourne. Gizmag caught up with the pair as they prepare to bring the show to Sydney and beyond in 2014. (Editor's note: contains strong language.) Read More

Harnessing the power of Ford’s open-source platform OpenXC, 3D printing, Bluetooth and a Xbox 360, one of the Detroit automobile manufacturer’s engineers has created a manual shift gear knob that vibrates (haptic feedback) at the optimum time for a gear change. Read More

E3 is always an exciting time for gamers, but this year's show proved particularly enticing with two new video game consoles mere months from release. The Xbox One and Playstation 4 have handed game developers a much more advanced piece of kit to deliver some truly groundbreaking experiences. Each company's presentation revealed titles both familiar and brand new, but these are the ones that have us most anxious for the upcoming generation of console gaming. Read More